Customer Reviews

Sunshine and Shadow

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Sunshine and Shadow" has some redeeming qualities--the plot is moderately satisfying and the writing is good--but I simply couldn't stand the heroine. The book should have come with a review: "If you wish you were a Stepford wife, you'll love 'Sunshine and Shadow.'"

Thirty-something Benni Harper is the perfect hausfrau: cooking, volunteering, promising her dirty dishes that she'll meet them later, and making jokes with her friends about how "all men are the same." She's also unremittingly--cloyingly--sweet, good, and patient. At one point she tackles this really obnoxious woman, and for just a moment I thought she had snapped from the pressure of trying to be perfect and had resorted to violence to make the woman shut up. I was somewhat disappointed that this wasn't the case.

In a 1970s flashback, when Benni complains to her first husband about how "things are changing too fast" and "why can't things just stay the same?" she's predicting her later life: living in the 90s but clinging to the 50s. Or perhaps the 1870s. It's difficult to know which decade she'd prefer.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked it much better than Steps to the Altar. The thing that makes this book so enjoyable to read is the author's ability to make the reader feel like they are part of all the character's lives - not just Benni and her husband. I espcecially liked finding out more about the character of Jack.
The only negative is that there are way too many typos in the text of the paperback version. Ms. Fowler's writing deserves a better presentation.

In _Sunshine and Shadow_ Earlene Fowler has done something very difficult: taken two interlocking stories set seventeen years apart and told them in a way that each illuminates both the other and the underlying theme of the novel, bringing the two together at the end for a touching conclusion. The skill with which she pulls this feat off alone makes me give this book high marks. That there are other things to like here is frosting on the cake.

As San Celina prepares for its annual Fiesta Days, both Benni and her husband, Gabe, renew acquaintances with friends from their pasts. When one is murdered and Benni finds herself victimized by a mysterious stalker, Benni and Gabe are forced to remember and confront things they'd rather forget.

_Sunshine and Shadow_ is less a mystery than an exploration of characters and relationships, and the ways events in the past influence the present, both for good and bad. The murder story is more of a device in service to this theme than an end in itself, but I didn't feel cheated. I actually found it refreshing that Ms. Fowler chose to go in a very different direction and treat her characters in very different ways, instead of limiting herself to the same old "Benni is a snoop but it works out okay in the end" story. We see a very different Benni here, one who is forced to face fear and questions of faith in order to find her real strength.

There are a couple of glitches -- noticably that the Internet and cell phones are more prevalent in the world of the book than they really were in 1995 -- but none that detract from the excellence of the storytelling. _Sunshine and Shadow_ is a strong and sensitive addition to the Benni Harper series, one that made me think about it long after the reading was done.

Earlene Fowler can be depended on for a good story with interesting characters, and the beautiful background of the central California coast. In this, the 10th. book of the series, she tells parallel stories of heroine Benni Harper. One of the stories takes place in 1978 when Benni is married to young rancher, Jack Harper, and the second relates incidents in 1995 when Benni is married to Gabe, the local chief of police. Prominent in both stories is Emma Baldwin, an author whom Benni had admired in her younger days, and whom she interviewed for
a paper when she was in college. Another character is Luke, a friend of Gabe's whom he used to work with and who is back in town to visit. Fowler carefully weaves these stories together, much like a quilt pattern, and emerges with a well-told tale which has unsuspected connections at the end.

From the rave reviews of this book, I was expecting a much better mystery novel. I thought it was at best rather ordinary. The plot is more a why-done-it than a who-done-it. There were far too many unnecessary side characters and not enough suspects. There were also far too many lengthy descriptions of the settings, the details having little bearing on the plot development. The story line is thin, and much of the book seems like filler. The main character (Benni Harper) although very observant does not seem intelligent enough. I thought I was ahead of her too much of the time.

SUNSHINE AND SHADOW is a little different from the other books in this series. Earlene Fowler takes us back into Benni's early life and her first marriage to Jack. The author switches gears often and intertwines some of the story of Benni and her life with Jack with what's going on today in Benni's life. This is the tenth book in this series and there are many parts that make up SUNSHINE AND SHADOW.

The story begins when grandmother Dove marries Isaac. Her new husband moves in with lots of stuff and Dove asks Benni to take back the boxes that she had stored at her grandmother's home. Many of the items are things that had belonged to Benni's first husband, and they lead to Benni's reminiscing about Jack who was killed in an accident. As she sorts through the material, she comes across a journal that Jack had kept and she receives a startling revelation.

Emma Baldwin, an old acquaintance and famous author returns to San Celina and she and Bennie resume their friendship. She also agrees to lend Benni a wonderful old crazy quilt to display in the folk art museum where Benni is the curator.

Gabe Ortiz, Benni's husband who also happens to be the local police chief, continues to be devoted to his new wife, but the marriage is still a little shaky. The mystery comes into the story when an old friend of Gabe's from the LAPD is killed in San Celina. After that, someone starts harassing Benni, and Gabe is convinced it has to do with an incident from his own past when he was a drug enforcement officer.

I was really looking forward to reading SUNSHINE AND SHADOW, but it was not what I was expecting. STEPS TO THE ALTAR, the previous story in this series, left me in a state of uncertainty as to what would happen to Benni's marriage to Gabe and I approached this book expecting a resolution to that problem. At first I felt that this story skirted that issue; however, the more I thought about this book, the more I realized that the author knows that a troubled marriage is not cured overnight. I believe that she decided to give her characters time to work through their marital problems. After all, everyone's life is filled with sunshine and shadow.

As usual, this author delivers another good book and tops it off by giving the reader something to think about. This is a skillfully written and very clever story.

Benni Harper's widowed grandmother Dove is getting married to Isaac Lyons who is a world-renowned photographer. After the wedding Dove has second thoughts. She has been widowed for over 30 years and is finding adjusting to marriage harder than she expected. The fact that Isaac has groupies always trying to get his attention doesn't help.

Benni was also widowed. Jack, her first husband, died in a car accident. She married Police Chief Gabe Ortiz. They have had their ups and downs but things are going fairly well now.

Benni's cousin Emory and Benni's best friend Elvia were recently married. Emory bought Elvia Blind Harry's bookstore. She is having a grand opening and is very nervous. Benni helps her. Author Emma Baldwin whom Benni had interviewed back in college and was Benni's favorite author comes to the grand opening to speak about her books. Benni is excited to see her again. They renew their friendship.

Gabe's friend and former undercover partner Luke comes to town supposedly on a case, he's now a PI. He is later found stabbed to death Someone is stalking Benni. Gabe is concerned it could be someone from his undercover days before they were married.

Benni and her first husband Jack were ranchers. Now Benni is the folk art museum curator. This book parallels her life back in 1978 with Jack and her life now in 1995 with Gabe. This is done so well and you know that there is a reason for it, but you don't know the reason until the end.

I truly enjoyed this book. It was so well written. The parallel plots are expertly weaved. The characters are developed so well and the setting is so real that I find myself having to put down her books. I just want to keep reading and find out what happened.

I think this is the best in the series yet. I thoroughly enjoyed the surprise ending.

I highly recommend this book and that you read the whole series.

Incredibly well-crafted, Earlene acquaints her readers with Jack, Benni's first husband. The story flows between the past and the present, weaving the two together in such a way that readers may get goosebumps by the end.

If you love mysteries, or love quilts (or folk art) and a great romantic story, you will love the Benni Harper mysteries. Ms. Fowler is a great story teller. I can't wait to see what she comes up with in future books in this series. The books are clean but true to life, without a lot of the garbage language that has infested other authors' work. ...

Enjoy!

Sunshine And Shadow by Earlene Fowler is the best Benni Harper novel yet. Not only does she manage to use TWO types of quilts metaphorically [the sunshine and shadow quilt of the title AND the crazy quilt], but she also juggles two different [but related] stories from two different time periods [the current period of the novels and early in Benni and Jack's marriage]. The plotting is tight and the mysteries are intriguing. First and foremost, the novel is about relationships. Benni and Gabe, Benni and Jack, Isaac and Dove, Gabe and his old partner, author and reader, and many, many more. Regular readers of the Benni Harper series should read this novel with relish. Newcomers will enjoy the novel, but I would suggest that they start with an earlier novel. I am also pleased to say that due to Ms. Fowler's newest book deal, we have at least two more Benni Harper novels to look forward to [and a non-series novel that will be set on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevadas].